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20 Years of Presentation Design Services

This month, we’re celebrating a big anniversary: 20 years since PDS became a limited company.

Join us in taking a look back from our humble beginnings through to the people who make it all possible today.

LUSH Cosmetics Creative Showcase Manchester Central birds eye view

ALL ABOUT US

Who Are We?

We are a multi-discipline event production company working across all facets of the live events industry – conferences, launches, award ceremonies, exhibitions, experiential and creative activations.

As a company many of our roots stem from the theatre arts and so we are perhaps more inventive and creative than you might find elsewhere in the events industry. Everything we do starts with a concern for the aesthetic with an intention that every project, however large or small, looks brilliant.

WE ARE PDS

Take a Look

Check out our promo video below to get a little insight of what we’re all about.

EVENT PRODUCTION

What Do We Do?

We design, we build, we light, we project, we paint, we dress, we drape, we invent and we programme. We say yes and we get on with it. We’re organised and productive, creative and experienced.

We have a vast breadth of experience and employ designers, visualisers, project managers, technicians, set builders, scenic artists, drape makers and dressers. When we say we can do almost anything, we actually mean it. Find out for yourselves below.

Our Work
TED The Countdown Summit Edinburgh Scotland 2021 stage at distance

“We aren’t any run-of-the-mill production company. We’re a ‘can do’ team with personality and a sense of adventure.”

OUR AIM

Approachable and Personable

We aim to be approachable and personable. At all times we want to make our clients’ lives as easy as possible. We employ people with character and personality and we hope to be a breath of fresh air for everyone we work with.

We aren’t any run-of-the-mill production company. We’re a ‘can do’ team with personality and a sense of adventure.
Presentation Design Services Group photo on Awayday 2024

Meet Our Team

We are a mixed bunch with a depth of knowledge in a vast array of fields. All influenced by each other in one way or another.

Photo of Gavin Ling, Managing Director.
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Isle of skye coffee sat bains espresso martinis bond films

Gavin Ling

Managing Director

James Johnson, Director/Senior Project Manager.
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BBQ cooking old fashion cocktails koufonisia paprika flavour crisps horse riding.

James Johnson

Director/Senior Project Manager

Nicky Hudswell, Director/Drapes Manager.
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Lindy hop gin & tonic yoga salted hula hoops chocolate

Nicky Hudswell

Director/Drapes Manager

Alesha Johnson, Director/PR & Marketing Manager.
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The lakes amaretto sour paella grow your own family walks

Alesha Johnson

Director/PR & Marketing Manager

Adam Swain, Senior Project Manager.
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Indian food ready salted crisps lego listening to podcasts non fiction books

Adam Swain

Senior Project Manager

Dorrie Scott, Creative Producer.
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Chocolate prawn cocktail crisps fizz exploring places making things.

Dorrie Scott

Creative Producer

Kat Wilson, Creative Production Technician.
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Country pub food sea salt & black pepper crisps indie music Hound of the Baskervilles Marvel films.

Kat Wilson

Creative Production Technician

Lianne Sheridan, Operations Coordinator.
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Oxford United dinosaurs 70/80 rock sour cream & chive crisps Indiana Jones

Lianne Sheridan

Operations Coordinator

Jack Johnson, Project Support Technician.
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The Highlands climbing sour cream & onion crisps folk metal good pub food.

Jack Johnson

Project Support Technician

Christie Sackman, Production Assistant.
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Aperol sprits Adam Sandler films pop punk going to hot yoga and pilates vegan katsu.

Christie Sackman

Production Assistant

Jane Eliot-Webb, Drapes Sales.
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The ballet enjoys swimming reading opera and classical music italian food

Jane Eliot-Webb

Drapes Sales

Beth Swift, Drapes Workroom Manager.
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Macbeth salt and vinegar crisps jewellery drinking mojitos Indian food.

Beth Swift

Drapes Workroom Manager

Alison Lane, Assistant Workroom Manager.
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Ready salted crisps Brit pop going to the cinema cheese period dramas.

Alison Lane

Assistant Workroom Manager

Emily Foster, Production Assistant (Drapes.)
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Cycling green fingered drinking white Russians Cornish Boomtown festival.

Emily Foster

Production Assistant (drapes)

Sarah Palmer, Production Assistant (Drapes).
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Fijian islands chocolate ice cream gardening cheese and onion crisps margaritas

Sarah Palmer

Production Assistant (drapes)

Anna Kohler, Production Assistant (Drapes).
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Reading the outdoors baking making things dancing.

Anna Kohler

Production Assistant (drapes)

Kiana D'Aniello, Production Assistant (Drapes).
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Alice in Wonderland Pringles Crafting R&B Sage Green.

Kiana D' Aniello

Production Assistant (drapes)

Ben Dew, Warehouse Manager.
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Mexico paprika crisps folk music silver smithing kayaking

Ben Dew

Warehouse Manager

David Finlay, Warehouse Production Technician.
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Double tequila lime & soda doja cat Midsummer nights dream lentil chips cheerleading

David Finlay

Warehouse Production Technician

Presentation Design Services staff headshot.
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Playing guitar beer guy salt and vinegar crisps Amsterdam electronica.

Tom Owen

Warehouse Technician

Presentation Design Services Staff Headshot.
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Spicy Doritos burgers painting miniatures cake baking electronic music.

Alex Wood

Warehouse Technician

Photo of Carl Stevens, Building Maintenance Technician.
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Whiskey salt and vinegar crisps 70s music battle of Britain boating.

Carl Stevens

Building Maintenance Technician

Photo of Nikki Smallwood, Company Cleaner.
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Autobiographies 80s music the Caribbean shopping Chinese food.

Nikki Smallwood

Company Cleaner

Presentation Design Services staff headshot.
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Walking seabrook crisps tea shops veggie roast dinner fell running.

Dan Lounds

Workshop Manager

Who Are Our Clients?

Most of our major events clients are creative branding and advertising agencies. We work hard to build long lasting, trusting relationships with companies to produce fast and stunning results. We constantly deliver, on time, on budget and above and beyond expectations. As deadlines get shorter and shorter, the ability to produce what is needed, in a matter of days without allowing the timescale to affect quality or attention to detail, is absolutely crucial. This is what we do, we produce amazing events, seemingly from nowhere, at unbelievable speed.

Quotation Mark

To our amazing crew,

So we invited the brightest thinkers and doers from around the world to gather for the first-ever in-person TED climate conference. And to help pull it all off, we invited you: a better team than we could have ever dreamed up.

You all pulled off something truly remarkable at this event. Thank you for your expertise, your enthusiasm and your thoughtfulness. Thank you for your patience with our milk selection. Thank you for tackling the long hours, the mid-session band setups, and everything, everything, everything else with so much grace.

All of you are magicians in your own right, and all of us here at TED are so grateful for you.

- TED Production Team

Just want to say a huge thank you to you and your team for all your hard work over the last few weeks. Thank you for being so flexible and patient and coming up with solutions at the drop of a hat!

Just received the below piece of feedback – the M&S team are thrilled so here’s to many more M&S events to come! “THANK YOU so much for everything you did to make last night such a success. Our guests absolutely loved it and our director April was blown away by the transformation!! The space looked incredible – and I really appreciate everything you did to make everything so special.”

- Heaps and Stacks - M&S

I wanted to say thank you for your hard work on Playtime. It has been great working with you on this project. It really did look fantastic, I (and several others) think it was the best Playtime yet. It is so great working with a team we can have such trust in. Nothing is ever too much to ask, and I am aware we ask a lot! You go above and beyond to ensure everything you deliver is to an extremely high finish, and we appreciate the effort you make to find creative solutions in the planning process.

This attitude extends to the full team when onsite, I’d love to single people out, but as I started to I realised I was basically listing your whole team! Please do pass on our thanks to them all.

- Morna Bettesworth, Gramafilm

I relish working with PDS, the team are full of inspirational ideas and bring a fantastic creative energy to a project. For one of our events they worked tirelessly to bring a beautiful area of ancient woodland alive using light, colour and decoration. Their passion and enthusiasm for the event mirrored our own and the feedback from our guests was fantastic.  The PDS team really make the difference between the usual and the extraordinary.

- Kerry Jenkins, Woodland Trust

PDS nailed it, against the odds.

From housing the “world’s biggest bath bomb” to creating three ride-on hot air balloons.

The notion of “what is possible?” is constantly evolving when working with the team of very talented people at PDS.

- Michelle Hopper, Lush

Given the fact we had such a short timeline to work to, and the fact we only really had one shot at this, the exhibition unit was fantastic. It worked very well, was extremely well received by everyone we talked to at the show, and is now sat in prime position in our reception area as we thought it was too good just to sit in a corner gathering dust until the next exhibition.

Thanks again, and this was full vindication for us asking the experts to do it, rather than try and do it ourselves!

- Slack and Parr

DOING OUR BIT

Social & Environmental

Here at Presentation Design Services, we accept that our existence and output as a business has an effect on the local and global environment and that we need to be accountable for this.

We are committed to leading the industry in minimising the impact of our activities on the environment and supporting a sustainable and positive future for generations to come. We are dedicated to having, wherever possible, a positive, rather than negative effect on the world in which we operate.

See our full social & environmental policy

Instagram Feed

Why not take a look at our Instagram to see a curated selection of our work.